Suicide Note Spurs Check for Guns at Sleepy Hill Middle School

Thursday

May 8, 2014 at 8:13 AMMay 9, 2014 at 3:19 AM

Students arriving at Sleepy Hill Middle School on Thursday were checked for firearms after a note was found in the administration office Wednesday in which the writer threatened to commit suicide at the school.

By MILES PARKSTHE LEDGER

LAKELAND | Students arriving at Sleepy Hill Middle School on Thursday were checked for firearms after a note was found in the administration office Wednesday in which the writer threatened to commit suicide at the school.Students at the school were checked with a wand, similar to what is done at airports and other facilities, said Lakeland police Sgt. Gary Gross. Polk County School District employees, not police, were performing the wand searches, Gross added.School officials alerted police Wednesday when the note was found, and the decision was made to have a large law enforce­-ment presence on campus Thursday morning, Gross said. Twenty police officers and about seven Polk County sheriff's deputies were on the scene when students began arriving.District employees set up three search stations on the campus: two for students and one for faculty. Because the note was found in an administrative building that is mostly occupied by adults, police were not ruling out that it was not a student who left the note.The note specified the date, place and kind of weapon that was going to be used."I am going to kill myself on 5-8-14 on school campus," the note read. "I have a .45 Glock that I will bring. Be prepared!!"A .45 Glock is a handgun.Classes at Sleepy Hill began at 8:45 a.m., and Gross said all 27 officers were to be on campus until at least mid-morning, with a smaller number staying for the rest of the school day.An extensive search of the school was conducted with police dogs before students arrived Thursday."Our concern is that there is a weapon being brought on campus or already on campus," Gross said. "It could've been brought earlier — that's a consideration."Lloyd Stewart, the director of Polk County Safe Schools, said the School District was deferring all questions about the investigation to Lakeland police.He did say, however, that he is not aware of a student ever committing suicide on a Polk County School District campus during a school day.Lakeland police have a security plan for schools, and school employees also focus on security, he said."We've got a good plan in place," Stewart said. "We're taking it very seriously."

[ Miles Parks can be reached at miles.parks@theledger.com or 863-401-6962. ]